GameMaker: Studio on sale again until May 25th

YoYoGames has once again put their fantastic GameMaker: Studio software on sale again.

You can now upgrade your copy of GameMaker: Studio Standard to GameMaker: Studio Professional for $25, normally $50. In addition, you can buy any of the export modules (HTML5, iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8 and Ubuntu Linux) for 50% off.

Another interesting thing to note is that if you owned the old version, GameMaker 8.1, you can upgrade to GameMaker: Studio Professional for $37.50.

Why get GameMaker?

I’ve said it many times before, but GameMaker is one of my top three favorite game design and development tools. You don’t need to code at all with its drag and drop interface, but once you get more advanced GameMakerScript enables you to do powerful things. One of the best reasons to upgrade to GameMaker Studio over 8.1 is the ability to release for up to 9 platforms.

The basic version allows for very simple games, limiting the number of objects and resources you can have. The Standard edition gets rid of that limit, allow you to make any kind of game you want. You can then release on desktops (Windows and Mac) AND Windows 8 Store for free! In addition to any other platform you buy for 50% discount.

Getting started with GameMaker

If you haven’t used GameMaker before, I released an open source Windows 8 game a while back called “GemRun”. You can use it as a template for your first game, deconstruct it to learn how GameMaker works, or just take bits and pieces as you may find useful in your development.